Buckstones Jump near Rydal has been on our list for a long time, and finally we made it there today! What an awesome little spot! It’s a short walk up from Rydal and offers a great little beach area, with stones on one side and grass on the other. There’s waterfalls and pools to swim or paddle in and plenty of rocks to climb and explore.

Locals know this place most commonly as “Nannypie Lane”, although officially it’s called Wilson Place. This stretch of the River Kent is near Sedgwick, on the outskirts of Kendal and is a fantastic place to have a family walk and / or a picnic on a hot sunny day.

Sandscale Haws National Nature Reserve is an outstanding coastal dune habitat on the Duddon Estuary which supports a wealth of unique wildlife and boasts stunning views of the Lake District Fells. We had an absolutely amazing day, walking along the shoreline, climbing up and sliding down the sand dunes, building sandcastles, splashing in the water (at high tide) and picnic’ing. You could also go beach combing, fly a kite, skim stones or bird watch.

This is a gently undulating, but mostly flat, 3 mile circular walk along the River Kent, just outside of Kendal, up to Force Falls at the top and back down to Levens Hall in the south. If you don’t fancy a long walk, then just take a few hundred metres walk to the river shoreline and have a picnic and a paddle!

Kettlewell is a beautiful little picnic spot just off the Borrowdale Road, on the south east shores of Derwentwater. Free for National Trust members, and offering a pretty little beach and local walks.